This Years' Love
by Romula1
Summary: Absolute fluff, but was v popular at Astronomytower. Don't expect any more...
1. Prologue

THIS YEARS' LOVE A Sirius lovers' fan-fiction by Lady Lupin... for Hippygirl – don't give up  
on Froggie yet ^^  
  
Prologue - Denial  
  
Elizabeth dropped the paper. It skittered off the table and across the floor like it was glad to escape the too tight grip of her fingers. The sheets rustled in the warm summer breeze that wafted in through the open window.  
A moving picture, smiling in a distracted sort of way, covered nearly a full page – the front page. Sirius Black. And beneath it was a little picture, cowering in the corner of the sheet, edged in black and looking perplexed. Peter Pettigrew.  
Elizabeth remembered them both.  
She'd been at school with them, seen every prank punished, every plot brought to light. She'd seen the way Peter had idolised Sirius and his friends; their acceptance of him would always give her a warm feeling inside, no matter what Sirius had done. No matter if he murdered Peter in cold blood. No matter if he betrayed his friends. She knew another Sirius. He didn't know her, but she knew him.  
She had understood him, seen through the facade, seen past the joy and constant exuberance. She'd barely spoken two sentences to him.  
But Sirius – the Sirius that she knew she knew – wouldn't have done that. Wouldn't harm a fly. Perhaps a Slytherin, but not a fly.  
Elizabeth had been in Slytherin. She was ambitious, so what? It wasn't because you were evil that you went in Slytherin – Just look at Sirius, the perfect Gryffindor – it was because you wanted to go places and no one was going to stop you from going where you wanted to go. Hence her husband, William. William had been in Slytherin, too. He wasn't particularly good-looking – never had been – and she didn't exactly love him. He wasn't loyal – she didn't care. He was nice to her, and that she valued. In her year, it had been Narcissa who'd always got the attention, never Elizabeth. Narcissa, this, Narcissa, that. Narcissa with the long, thin legs and the long, blonde hair. Narcissa who'd do anything you want, Mr. Malfoy, sir and despise all others be they fellow Slytherins or Hufflepuff first-years. Even Sirius had been attracted to Narcissa who got all the top grades. Elizabeth sighed, feeling the old emotions welling up once more. Self- depreciation. Self-loathing. Elizabeth who did the work, who tried her best, but who could never match the others. Well she'd shown them. A top job at the Ministry of Magic and a husband who was an Unspeakable. Loads of money, no draining children, a huge house and a job she liked. What more could a girl want? Elizabeth stared down at the paper on the floor as though confused as to how it got there. Sirius ... what have you done? 


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Forbidden Release  
  
Yet again the paper escaped Elizabeth's fingers and fell from the table. She jumped up from her chair, knocking it backward onto the laminated wooden floor. One hand rose to cover her mouth and stifle the cry of shock.  
With trembling fingers she reached down to pick up the sheets.  
Footsteps came thundering down the stairs and in moments William peered through the doorway. "Elizabeth? Are you okay?"  
"He's escaped!"  
William didn't seem to catch the note of excitement quivering in her voice. "I know, but don't worry! Fudge has Dementors and Aurors combing the country already, and he'll be back behind bars in no time!"  
Catching hold of her emotions once more, she nodded. Quickly she scraped up the paper and stuffed it into the coal bin. But inside, her thoughts were whirling round and round in a confused mix of relief and terror. He looks so DIFFERENT! What did they do to him in there? How did he escape? Did he really kill Peter? What has happened to him?  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
"This is RIDICULOUS!" Fudge stormed, waving his short arms around his head as he paced behind the conference table. "He CANNOT HAVE JUST VANISHED!"  
"Excuse me sir, but you're not suggesting that Snape had a point?" A young wizard asked.  
"I don't know. I honestly don't know! I don't see why Potter would want to free Black, but I also don't see why Dumbledore was just so damn calm when he discovered the murderer has escaped again!"  
"Mr. Fudge, do you have any plans to continue the search for Black?" A witch in shocking pink robes asked with a predatory grin. In front of her an acid green quill was balanced on a roll of parchment.  
"Where the hell am I supposed to search for the bugger?" Fudge's face was flushing purple. He kept gripping his bald head with his hands and looking at the ceiling as he continued to pace.  
Elizabeth eyed the quill suspiciously as it began to scribble across the reporter's parchment.  
"I, honestly, am beginning to worry about the sanity of the Hogwarts headmaster," a quiet voice purred from the seat next to Elizabeth. She jumped and glared at Lucius Malfoy.  
"Now, Malfoy, watch your footing!" Fudge spluttered, finally lowering his windmill arms and coming to a standstill.  
"Minister, you can't ignore it any further. He hired a werewolf to teach children Defence Against the Dark Arts; he doesn't trust your loyal Dementors and he quite obviously doesn't see Sirius Black as the threat that he is."  
Fudge made an odd spluttering noise again and looked away from Malfoy's cool gaze. He began to pace again. "The thing is, people, Black will quite clearly be heading back to his master! What are our latest leads on his whereabouts?"  
Bertha Jorkins peered along the table, "Oh, I believe the last official tip-off we got was from Ogden in Siberia – but that was around two months ago. Recently however there have been a few more rumours than normal coming out of Albania..."  
Malfoy waved a hand in disgust. "Rumours. That's all you deal in, Jorkins. Minister, we have no idea where Voldemort is right now." Everyone at the table winced. "He could be right outside the door, listening in, and we wouldn't have the faintest clue to it."  
Bertha bristled. "Well at least I'm doing more for the cause than you are, Lucius! All you do is criticise other peoples' efforts without actually doing anything yourself! If you're so bloody – "  
"Bertha, calm down – "Fudge began.  
"No! No, Minister, I have to say this." She was now standing up. "If you're so bloody good, Malfoy you get up here and you do all the jobs that we're doing!"  
Malfoy sneered. "Jorkins, your are all doing so little that I could do all your jobs and still have time to spare on my own, which I take very seriously," he said in a voice that dripped liquid nitrogen.  
"Bertha, sit down, please!" Fudge broke in again. He'd stopped pacing again and his face was now a pasty white. His gaze flickered nervously over Rita Skeeter's Quick Quote Quill, which was hastily jotting down all it had heard. "We have a couple of leads here." He shot a silencing glare at Malfoy, who had opened his mouth to object, "and we are going to follow them both up. Bertha, if you wouldn't mind and if Ludo can spare you, I'd like you to investigate the Albanian rumours."  
Jorkins nodded. "That'll be fine, I'm sure, Minister. I have an article to write on the Albanians' international team before the World Cup, anyway."  
"And Malfoy? Would you like to explore the official tip-off from Siberia?"  
The wizard sat up, affronted. "I will not, Minister! I am quite busy enough with my own job!"  
Fudge looked around the table, apparently not going to concern himself with a comeback to Malfoy's excuse. "William?"  
With a sideways glance at Elizabeth to check she had no complaints, William nodded. "Of course, Minister."  
In the other ear, Elizabeth heard Malfoy's murmured mockery of her husband and felt the muscles in her shoulders and jaw clench in sudden irritation. How she'd love it if William uncovered the Dark Lord out there and showed Malfoy up to be the Death Eater everyone could see he was.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
"Honestly! You get to go to Madagascar or wherever and I'm off to Siberia!" William planted a quick kiss on her cheek as he gathered up his suitcases in one hand, holding his wand out in the other. With a swift 'pop' he Disapparated.  
Smiling, Elizabeth checked all the locking spells on the house one last time, then she herself vanished. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2 - A Chance Encounter  
  
No one by the pool looked twice at the woman who had just appeared out of nowhere. A couple raised their sunglasses briefly to see who was there, but other than that they ignored her sudden arrival. Elizabeth nodded to the old witch at the desk of the hotel. "Hi. Elizabeth Yards, I should have a reservation for Chalet 12?"  
Soon she was exploring the little cottage on the hotel grounds that she'd be staying in for the next couple of weeks whilst researching wizarding lifestyle in a tropical climate. Cautiously she opened the door, clutching the fastening of her sarong warily.  
Elizabeth felt decidedly self-conscious as she settled herself onto a sun bed by the hedge. She fidgeted for a couple of minutes, trying to arrange the material so that it wouldn't show off her legs – which she hated. When that was done to her satisfaction, she folded her arms over her chest uncomfortably, wondering how all the other witches and wizards around the pool could relax when they were wearing even less than she was.  
At about twelve a young pimply wizard came around and asked if anyone wanted to order any drinks or snacks. Folding her arms more tightly and sitting up, Elizabeth ordered a small white wine – Hey, I'm on holiday – and a chicken and pickle sandwich. The youth pulled a face at this order and slouched away.  
A few minutes later, finally forgetting her paranoia, Elizabeth picked up the sandwich with glee. And was promptly interrupted by something cold and wet on her leg. She jumped and gave a little scream, looking down to see a quite huge black dog looking hopefully up at her.  
"This is my lunch!" She said with a touch of laughter, despite her surprise.  
The dog whined and sat down, all the time staring at her with imploring eyes. Imploring blue eyes. She frowned. As far as she knew there wasn't any type of dog except huskies which had blue eyes. And this dog's eyes were darker than a husky's. Plus it was way too big to be one of those little sled-pullers.  
"Go ask someone else..." Her whine was almost exactly the same tone as the dog's. She looked up to see if anyone else was eating... and she found that no one else had ordered any food. Elizabeth eyed first the sandwich, then the dog suspiciously. "Well... if the food here's that bad I guess I'd better test it on someone first..." She was shocked for a moment to see the dog's ear twitch as she said this, rather like a human raising their eyebrow. Slowly she tore a piece of the sandwich off and held it out tentatively, hoping the dog wouldn't take her hand with the food. Yet again she was surprised. Very gently, the dog picked the sandwich off her hand and ate it quite delicately, wagging its tail all the time. A wizard in the warm, clear water of the pool looked up and gave a little chuckle. "That's why we don't order lunch here. We all get pestered! Way too clever that dog is. You should try some of the Muggle shops in the town – they're dog-free." Elizabeth smiled and looked down at the dog again. "No, it's okay thank you. He's kind of cute really." The wizard laughed again. "You'll be taking it home with you now, I'm warning you..."  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Sure enough, Elizabeth found herself inviting the dog to follow her as she got up to leave the poolside. It hesitated for a moment, and a little disappointed – she'd always wanted a dog – she shrugged and headed for the path to her chalet. When she felt a dog's cold, wet nose nuzzle its way into her palm asking for a pat on the head, she laughed and scratched it behind the ear. "I knew you couldn't bare to leave the chicken-sandwich goddess."  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Elizabeth was charming the take-away meals she'd ordered into cooking themselves. It was ten o'clock and dark outside and she'd spent the afternoon interviewing a few local wizards and witches. The dog had been a great help with this – none of them could say no when such a cute animal was asking for fuss. She'd left the dog in the small living room with her notes from the day, and it wasn't until she heard the rustling of papers that she wondered what was going on.  
Thinking she'd imagined it, she shook her head and switched the Muggle radio on. She was dancing a little and singing badly to Cindy Lauper's 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' as she emptied a can of ratatouille into a small tray when she was sure she heard a mutter from the next room.  
Elizabeth turned round to see –  
"You know, I love this song." 


End file.
